Mr. Executive Secretary, Kedves Tibor,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please let me welcome you on behalf of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority to Budapest and thank you for accepting the invitation to attend this Experts’ Meeting on Civil and Scientific Applications of the CTBT Verification Technologies. I would like to thank the Executive Secretary, the dedicated staff of the Provisional Technical Secretariat and the dedicated staff of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their thorough preparatory work.

Ladies and Gentleman,

The Republic of Hungary as a state which accepts and supports the endeavors of the international non-proliferation treaties was among the first states that signed not only the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, but the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as well. Both treaties were ratified by the Hungarian Parliament and were declared in acts.

In connection with the declaration of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty the Government of the Hungarian Republic assigned the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority as the National Authority. Within the organization of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority a department which undertakes also the implementation of the duties derived from the Non-proliferation Treaty and the relating Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol is dedicated to perform the tasks derived from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Hungary is prepared for the implementation of the Treaty, the legal regulations support both the verification and information exchange activities of the CTBTO.

Ladies and Gentleman,

Let me inform you in a few words about the regarding Hungarian activities conducted in 2006, and let me introduce you those Hungarian institutes and organizations, which play relevant role in these support activities.

As I mentioned above the National Authority in Hungary is the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority, in this role the Authority performs the task of the national contact point and organizes the spreading of information towards the interested Hungarian parties, additionally the Authority operates the workstation connecting to the CTBTO information databank.

The Eötvös Lóránd Geophysical Institute is, as a major scientific institute of the geological research, involved in the technical support of CTBT verification techniques, and the experts are also involved in the field operations.

The Hungarian Meteorological Service can provide the official meteorological forecast and wind trajectories for the localization of the origin of a weapon test, and for the evaluation of consequences after a nuclear weapon test.

The experts of NBC Area Control Center at the Hungarian Defence Forces plays role in the reconnaissance and field evaluation based on the generated radiation field.

In this year Hungarian experts from the previously mentioned organizations were participating in three experts’ meetings as: (1) Combined methodology testing and curriculum development, (2) OSI Directed Exercise 2006, and (3) OSI Experimental Advance Course. Based on the feedback received from the experts attending in these meetings, the information and the knowledge obtained are usefully applicable during their normal “peace” activities, as well.

Another initiation for co-operation between the CTBTO and Hungary was that event, when in August of 2006 two experts from the On-site Inspection Division visited the Peace Support Training Center of the Hungarian Defense Forces in order to evaluate its equipment and support tools. The aim of the visit was to decide whether the Training Center is applicable for holding a planned CTBTO training in next year. The formal decision will be made during this year.

I should mention the present experts’ meeting, the organization of which was supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs; furthermore the activity of the CTBTO has been acknowledged also by the President of the Republic of Hungary.

Mr. Executive Secretary,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion I would like to express that the commitment of the Republic of Hungary towards the goals of the CTBTO is strong. And the co-operation started in the last years between the CTBTO and the Republic of Hungary will strengthen further for the satisfaction of both parties.

I wish your experts’ meeting will be successful for all of you, and I also wish you a pleasant and fruitful stay in Budapest.

Thank you!